Refrigerator



P 1933- H. A. DOCKHAM 2,130,617

REFRIGERATOR Filed March 23, 1956 HERERT A. DOC/(HAM Patented Sept. 20,1938 UNITED STATES REFRIGERATOR Herbert A. Dockham, Crockett, can,asslgnor of one-third to Hazel L. Groves, San Francisco,

Calif.

Application March 23, 1936. Serial No. 70,344 3 Claims. (or. 312-189)The present invention relates to improvements in refrigerators and itsprincipal object is to provide means for reducing to a minimum the lossof cold air when the door is opened for gaining access to the contentsof the refrigerator.

More particularly it is proposed to provide a second or auxiliary doorin addition to the conventional main door and to provide this door witha number of openings and windows through m which access may be gained tolimited sections of the refrigerator without exposing the entire coolingchamber of the refrigerator to draft and to exchange of cooled air withthe outside temperature. r

515. it is further proposed to make the windows and practically theentire area of the auidliary door of glass orsimilar transparent andheat insulating material so that the entire contents of the interior ofthe refrigerator may be viewed 55% from the outside and selection madebefore any part of the auxiliary door is opened.

It is further proposed to arrange the auxiliary door in such a mannerthat it will in itself constitute a complete closure for the coolingchamher of the refrigerator.

It is further proposed to provide drawers in the cooling chamber and toarrange the auxiliary door with openings through which the drawers maybe moved, the entire arrangement being preferably such that the frontwalls of the drawers lie in the plane of the auxiliary door andcooperate therewith in forming a complete closure for the interior ofthe refrigerator.

It is further proposed to provide a cooling chamber of the refrigeratorwith shelves or partitions for dividing the same into differentcompartments and to arrange the window openings of the auxiliary door insuch a manner that they substantially .register with the compartments sothat individual and separate access may be gained to each compartment.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as thespecification proceeds.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing in which- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of my refrigeratorwith the main door open and the auxiliary door closed,

Figure 2 a similar perspective view with the main door open and theauxiliary door closed but. with certain windows and a drawer open,

Figure 3 a similar perspective view with the main door open and theauxiliary door partly open, 65 Figure 4 a vertical section through thedoor arrangement taken along line 4-4 of Figure 1, and

Figure 5 a horizontal section takenalong line 5-5 of Figure 1.

While I have shown only the preferred form 5 of my invention I wish tohave it understood that various changes or modifications may be madewithin the scope of the claims hereto attached without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. ill

Apart from the special features of the invention the refrigerator 9 maybe made in any conventional manner and the present invention has noreference to the manner or means for cooling the interior of therefrigerator. As a rule a 25 large portion of the upper part of therefrigerator is devoted to the reception of food and this portion ishereinafter referred to as the cooling chamber 2. It is provided withshelves 3 whereby it is divided into different compartments l 20 and anumber of drawers 5 are arranged at the bottom of the chamber. Above theupper shelf ii there is a special small compartment 6 in which ice cubesare frozen in the conventional manner.

The cooling chamber is open in front and has 25 a beveled edge aroundthe opening. A conventional heavy door 1 is hinged to one edge of theopening as at 8 and has a projecting section 9 with a beveled edge illadapted to be received within the beveled edge of the door opening. 30There is enough space between the beveled edges, however, to accommodatethe frame of the auxiliary door H which constitutes the essentialfeature of the present invention.

The door II has a beveled frame I2 of rela- 35 tively thin material andis hinged to the beveled edge of the door opening as shown at l2, sothat when both doors are closed the frame of the auxiliary door liesbetweenthe beveled edges of the main door and the door opening.

The door is provided with a plurality of windows l3 which are hinged'tothe door frame l2 as shown at l3 and which are preferably arranged insuch a manner as to correspond to the different compartments in thecooling chamber so that 45 access may be gained to the differentcompartments through the individual windows. Special smaller windows areprovided for the smaller compartments on the upper shelf adjacent theice cube compartment and an opening I 4 is left 5 in the auxiliary doorfor the drawers of the ice compartment and a large opening is providedat the bottom of the frame 12, (see Figure 3) for the drawers 5 so thatthe drawers may be pulled out without opening the auxiliary door.

The drawers are preferably arranged in such a manner that the frontwalls thereof lie in the plane of the auxiliary door when the latter isclosed and completely fill the opening in the door left for them.

The manner in which the invention works may be readily understood fromthe foregoing description. When it is desired to gain access to thecooling chamber as a whole, both the main door and the auxiliary doormay be opened. But for all normal operations, as for the insertion andremoval of food, the auxiliary door may remain closed and form a closurefor the cooling chamber though the main door is open. It fits tightlyaround the edges so there is no draft. At the same time the contents ofthe entire chamber may be surveyed through the glass windows before anyof the latter are opened. After selection has been made, the operatoropens the window through which the selected food may be withdrawn andsince the window is small and the time required for opening and closingit very limited there will be very little exchange of air between theinside and outside of the refrigerator. The

drawers 5 of the refrigerator and the ice cube compartments may also beopened without opening the auxiliary door.

It is apparent that all conventional operation means, such as springmeans for opening the doors, latches for closing them and electricalmeans for releasing the latches may be applied to both doors and thewindows without the exercise of invention.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator, a housing having a cooling chamber for storingfood, a drawer in the cooling chamber, a door for closing the coolingchamber and a second door inside the first door having an openingthrough which the drawer may be moved, the drawer having a front wallcooperating with the second door in forming a complete closure for thecooling chamber and arranged to permit the second door to be openedwithout moving the drawer.

2. In a refrigerator, a housing having a cooling chamber for storingfood, a drawer in the chamber, a shelf in the chamber for dividing thesame into a plurality of compartments, a door for the chamber and asecond door inside the first door and having an opening through whichthe drawer may be moved and movable windows through which access may begained to the individual compartments, the second door being made tocoact with the drawer in forming a complete closure for the coolingchamber and arranged to permit the second door to be opened withoutmoving the drawer.

3. In a refrigerator, a housing having a cooling chamber, a plurality ofdrawers in the chamber, a plurality of shelves in the chamber fordividing the same into a plurality of compartments, a door for thechamber and a second door inside the first door and having an openingthrough which the drawers may be moved and movable windows through whichaccess may be gained to the individual compartments, the second doorbeing made to coact with the drawers in forming a complete closure forthe cooling chamber and arranged to permit the second door to be openedwithout moving the drawer.

HERBERT A. DOCK'H AM.

